Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: The Kings are trying to make a run

On Tap

Thursday's NHL schedule features 10 games, nine of which will affect the playoffs:

Washington Capitals at Buffalo Sabers (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, MSG-B)

The Capitals currently hold the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. Washington (37-30-11) is one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings, and two ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers. Alex Ovechkin has four goals in his last four games for Washington, which sits two points behind the New York Islanders in third place in the Metropolitan Division. The Sabers (37-37-5) have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Florida Panthers (7 p.m. ET; BSFL, BSOH)

The Panthers are three points behind the Boston Bruins for first in the Atlantic Division. Florida (49-24-6) is second, three points ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sam Reinhart has 53 goals for Florida, which is second in the NHL. The Blue Jackets (26-41-12) have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers (7 p.m. ET; NBCSP, MSG)

The Rangers (53-22-4) are first in the NHL, one point ahead of the Dallas Stars. New York is three points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes in first place in the Mets. The over is 8-2-0 in the Rangers last 10 games. Forward Artemi Panarin had a 10-game hitting streak for New York with 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists). Philadelphia (36-32-11) is two points behind the Capitals for the second wild card out of the East and four points behind the Islanders for third in the Metropolitan. The Flyers have lost eight straight (0-6-2) and have three games remaining.

Detroit Red Wings at Pittsburgh Penguins (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, BSDET, SNP, SNE, TVAS)

The Penguins (36-30-12) and Red Wings (38-32-8) each trail the Capitals by one point for the second wild card out of the East. Pittsburgh is also three points behind the New York Islanders in third place in the Metropolitan. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in the last nine games. Red Wings forward David Perron has six points (one goal, five assists) during his five-game hitting streak.

Ottawa Senators at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; BSSUN, TSN5, RDS2)

The Lightning (44-27-7) hold the first wild card in the East and are six points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs in third place in the Atlantic with four games remaining. Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov leads the NHL in scoring with 139 points (43 goals, 96 assists) in 77 games, two points ahead of Colorado Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon, who has 137 points (51 goals, 86 assists) in 79 games. Kucherov has 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) in a seven-game streak. The Senators (34-40-4) have been eliminated from playoff contention.

New Jersey Devils at Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET; SNO, MSGSN2)

Toronto (46-23-9) is three points behind the second-place Panthers in the Atlantic with four games to play. Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews has 66 goals and is trying to become the first player to score at least 70 goals in a season since Alexander Mogilny of the Buffalo Sabers and Timu Selanne of the Winnipeg Jets had 76 each in 1992-93. The Devils (37-37-5) were eliminated from playoff contention after a 5-2 loss to the Maple Leafs on Tuesday.

Montreal Canadiens at New York Islanders (7:30 p.m. ET; MSGSN, TSN2, RDS)

The Islands (36-27-15) are in third place in the Metropolitan, two points ahead of the Capitals. Both teams have four games to play. New York is on a five-game winning streak and is 7-2-0 in their last nine games. Matthew Barzal has six assists during his five-game hitting streak and 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his last 10 games.

Winnipeg Jets at Dallas Stars (8 p.m. ET; BSSW, TSN3)

The Jets are two points behind the Colorado Avalanche for second place in the Central Division. Winnipeg (48-24-6) is on a four-game winning streak. Dallas (50-20-9) is five points ahead of Colorado for first in the Central and will clinch the division with a win. Star forward Jamie Benn has 17 points (10 goals, 7 assists) in his last 13 games.

Calgary Flames at Los Angeles Kings (10:30 p.m. ET; BSW, SNW)

The Kings will clinch a playoff spot with a win. Los Angeles (41-26-11) can extend its lead on the Vegas Golden Knights to three points for third place in the Pacific Division. Forward Kevin Fiala has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his last six games. The Flames (35-37-5) have been eliminated from playoff contention.

If the playoffs start on Thursday

Here's a look at the first-round matchups going into Thursday's games:

Eastern Conference

(1M) New York Rangers vs. (WC2) Washington Capitals
(1A) Boston Bruins vs. (WC1) Tampa Bay Lightning
(2A) Florida Panthers vs. (3A) Toronto Maple Leafs
(2M) vs. Carolina Hurricanes. (3M) New York Islanders

Western Conference

(1C) Dallas Stars vs. (WC2) Vegas Golden Knights
(1P) Vancouver Canucks vs. (WC1) Nashville Predators
(2C) Colorado Avalanche vs. (3C) Winnipeg Jets
(2P) Edmonton Oilers vs. (3P) Los Angeles Kings

About last night

There were three games on the schedule Thursday, all with playoff implications:

St. Louis Blues 5, Chicago Blackhawks 2: The Blues (42-32-5) scored four goals in their first four shots to pull within three points of the Golden Knights for the second wild card out of the West with three games remaining. Jordan Kirou had two goals, while Robert Thomas and Zach Bolduc each had a goal and an assist for St. Louis.

Edmonton Oilers 5, Vegas Golden Knights 1: Zach Hyman and Leon Draisaitl each had a goal and an assist as the Oilers moved four points clear of the Vancouver Canucks for first in the Pacific with two games to play. Connor McDavid has not played due to a lower body injury and is day-to-day. Stuart Skinner made 17 saves for Edmonton (48-24-5). The Golden Knights are three points ahead of the Blues for the second wild card out of the West.

Arizona Coyotes 4, Vancouver Canucks 3 (OT): Connor Ingram stopped Vancouver defenseman Philip Hronek on a short-handed penalty at 3:21 of overtime, and Logan Cooley gave the Coyotes the win 30 seconds later. The Canucks (48-22-9) had one point in the loss and moved four ahead of the Oilers for first place in the Pacific. Dylan Guenther had a goal and three assists for Arizona, which was eliminated from playoff contention.